


Can Kisses Save Us

by islashlove



Category: Psych
Genre: M/M, Male Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-09
Updated: 2015-01-01
Packaged: 2018-02-16 17:55:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 16,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2279220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/islashlove/pseuds/islashlove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It has been three years since Shawn's death and those who loved him are still having trouble moving on. But when someone starts to stalk and then attack them, their grief has to take a back seat to what is happening, otherwise, they may not survive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Three Years Later.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the sequel to 'Kisses Can Make Me Cry'.

Chief Karen Vick stood looking out through the glass wall which separated her office from the rest of the station. She watched as her officers went about their everyday jobs, either doing their paper work or dealing with the latest cases that had just landed on their desks. She also watched as her Head Detective Carlton Lassiter and his partner Juliet O'Hara walked into the bullpen, a suspect in tow.

If a stranger would have walked into the station right now, right at this moment, they could be forgiven for thinking that everything in this station fine, that…it was just like any other station in the world.

But it wasn't.

It had taken three months for the station and its people to get to a point to where it appeared normal again. Three months…to get over the death of one of their own. Three months…to accept that Shawn Spencer wasn't coming back to them.

In those three months since the memorial for Shawn, each and every one of them had to try and deal with their loss. Burton Guster had just thrown himself into his work, yet he still refused to close Psych down. His reasoning was, they have never found Shawn's body, so there was a chance he was still alive. But whenever she saw him, a little bit of that hope had died and she knew that the day was coming and he would finally accept the loss of his friend and then he'd be able to let Psych go as well.

As for Henry Spencer, Shawn's dad, he just spent most of his time either at the station or out on his boat fishing. Henry also refused to talk to anyone about Shawn. Even now, three years later, it was just like when Shawn had left when he was eighteen. Henry had just closed himself off to everyone, only this time, Shawn wasn't coming back.

Just like everyone else in the station, Chief Vick busied herself with work or spent as much time as she could with her family and Juliet O'Hara just seemed to withdraw deeply into herself and wouldn't let anyone near. Not Lassiter and not Chief Vick, but she did seem to talk to Gus and in a way they supported each other and over the years, they grew closer and in the end, they got married and now, they are expecting their first child.

But it was Lassiter that everyone was worried about. He had truly changed, but you needed to be really close to him to have noticed it. His bark was still there, but there was no longer any bite behind it and although he thought no one knew, Lassiter only did four things in those first three months.

He would get up in the morning and go to work. When work finished for the day, he would leave and do one of two things. He either went out to where they found Shawn's bike and continued the search for him or if he wasn't working or couldn't get out to the site, Lassiter would sit in a bar getting drunk and then at the end of the day he would go home and cry himself to sleep, only to get up the next day and start all over again.

Chief Vick just shook her head and returned to her desk and started going through the files that are there. God, how many times in the last three years had she picked up a file, looked at it and then picked up the phone to call Shawn? It had been too many, was the answer and the worst thing was, she didn't even realise it until the message comes through saying that the number is no longer in service.

A little commotion entered her ears and she looked up to see Lassiter and Juliet's suspect trying to run out of the station, only to be stopped by McNab. But there is something else wrong as some officers were holding Lassiter back.

Letting out a sigh, Chief Vick got up. Lassiter had only just started back at work after being put on forced leave again. Over the last three years she had to do this for god known how many times, but it was always for Lassiter's good. As soon as she stepped outside her office she could see what had happened this time. In his attempt to get away the suspect had knocked Lassiter desk which had sent the picture of Shawn flying.

"Detective Lassiter!" Her voice sounded a lot angrier that she was actually feeling, but it was affected by the frustration of having to deal with this…behaviour again. "My office…now!"

There wasn't any room for questioning in her tone and Lassiter just obeyed. After giving the suspect another death stare, he picked up the picture and entered the Chief's office. After he left, the suspect was taken straight to the cells to sweat it out, while the rest of the station tried to calm down.

Chief Vick followed her detective back into her office. This situation was becoming all too frequent and she was starting to run out of reasons not to fire him. It was time for her to stop covering for her detective and let him start to take responsibility for his actions. Three years is enough.

"Chief, I…"

"Save it, Carlton." Lassiter shivered at the use of his first name. "Please sit down."

Lassiter did as he was told and then watched as Chief Vick walked around the desk to sit down in her chair across the desk from him. He knew he was in trouble. For the last three years he has been in trouble, but this time he hoped it wasn't going to cost him his job. He watched as she let out a tired sigh before looking up at him.

"I don't want to know what happen out there because it's happening all the time. Carlton, I'm sorry, but I can no longer cover for you. It's been three years, you need to move on or it's going to kill you."

"I don't know what you mean, cover for me?"

"Don't, just don't go there. I know you are coming in either drunk or hung-over. That you are spending all your time out there looking for a ghost or trying to drown it in some bar at night and I just cannot let this to continue."

"Sorry, I'll clean out my desk and I…"

"I'm not firing you; I'm giving you one more time. I can't just keep giving you time off. I need my detective back and to be honest, do you think that Shawn would've wanted you to be like this."

"No, Chief, he wouldn't have wanted me to be like this, but…it's my fault he's gone and I…"

"I want you to go home and work out what you want to do. I will hand your cases over to someone else for now, so you don't worry about them. I just suggest that when you leave here you go home. Don't go looking for Shawn. Don't go to the bar, just go home and have a think as to what Shawn would say to you about what you are doing. Can you do that for me, please?"

"I'll try, Chief, but I can't promise anything."

Chief Vick hated seeing Lassiter like this, but there wasn't anything she could really do. He blamed himself for what had happened to Shawn and because of that, he lost the love of his life. To be honest, she was surprised that Lassiter hadn't just giving up on everything.

"All I ask is that you try; now, go home and rest."

With that Lassiter and Chief Vick both stood up and she walked him out of her office. She stood in the doorway and watched as he walked over to his desk. As he took what he needed out of it, Chief Vick looked around and noticed that everyone else was also watching him. Their eyes watched as he closed and locked his desk up and then, after picking up the picture again, Lassiter just walked out of the bullpen and out of the station.

After Lassiter was gone, Chief Vick went around and shared out Lassiter's cases, appointed a temporary partner to Juliet and then returned to her office. Once again, the station looked like it was back to normal, only now they were missing two, instead of one.


	2. Lassie sees a Vision of Shawn

After Lassiter walked out that day, he did exactly what the Chief had asked him not to do. He went to the nearest bar and bought some bottles of scotch. He then drove up to the spot where Shawn's bike had been found and sat down on the edge of the mountain road. As he drank himself in to a drunken state, Lassiter thought back over the years he had known Shawn.

As the time passed and the drunker he got, Lassiter started to talk to the memory of Shawn.

"You know, Shawn…you weren't fair. You…you with your hair and the way you walked, I never had a chance and I'm sure you knew it."

Lassiter stopped to take another swig from the bottle in his hand, downing the last bit. He then threw the empty bottle over the edge and picked up another one. After opening it up and taking another drink he continued.

"You didn't care how you made me feel, just as long as you brought out some sort of feeling. Anger, hatred, love, jealousy…especially jealousy with the way you flirted with O'Hara. You know, Shawn…she once told me that she was actually thinking of going out with you."

Lassiter let out a little laugh before taking another drink.

"Yeah, you had her in your hands and you let O'Hara walk away because you didn't want her, you wanted me."

With those words, Lassiter stopped laughing; his eyes grew heavy with anger and so did his face and voice.

"Why, Shawn! Why the hell did you want me?" Lassiter shouted into the valley below. "What did I do to earn your love? I was a grumpy old man who couldn't save his marriage and had an affair with his partner. What the hell did you see in me?"

Anger spent, Lassiter's voice lowered, and a few tears started to escape.

"You're gone and you have no idea what you left behind. Your Dad…he refuses to even talk about you. He blames himself for not stopping you from riding off that day; that he thought you would just go and come back soon. I've never seen a grown man fall to pieces like Henry did. At first, he was full of hope that we would find you and then came the time when they stopped looking. I can't forget the look in his eyes at the thought that you were gone and that we couldn't even bury your body. He just locked himself away, away from us, and when he came back, he acted, and still is acting, like he never had a son. I want to help him, I really do, but how do I help a man when I can't even help myself."

Lassiter finished off the rest of the bottle. His eyes were now drenched in tears, night had fallen and so he moved into the car and crept it even closer to the edge, so the headlights could light the valley below. Pulling on the parking brake, he grabbed another bottle, but his hand didn't grip it strong enough and the bottle slips from his hand and went crashing onto the floor, spilling its contents. Letting out a sigh, Lassiter just grabbed the last bottle. After taking another drink he placed his arms on the steering wheel and rested his head on them.

Suddenly he bursts into laughter and started to shake his head.

"You know, Shawn, Guster still has Psych going. He just can't let it go; says that, because we don't have a body, you could still be alive." Lassiter then bangs on the steering wheel. "Damn it! How can they have a go at me when, when Guster doesn't…won't let you go either? He's married now, you know. He married O'Hara in the end. In a couple of weeks' time they will be having their first child. Guster was the same as your dad; he withdrew into himself, refused to come to the station, to talk to anyone, except for O'Hara of course. They really supported each other and in a way, I am glad they had each other, but at the same time I hated it. It just didn't seem fair that they had found each other, through me loosing you."

"Before they got together, Juliet tried to support me. She really did, but how do you support someone who doesn't want your support. I did watch her, O'Hara, she just did her work. It was like she was running on auto pilot. One minute she would be there the next she was gone off somewhere quiet to cry at losing her friend…at losing you. I guess it was fate that O'Hara and Guster would end up with each other."

Lassiter lifted up the bottle, but didn't drink it. Instead he just stared straight out of the windscreen and into the darkness.

"You know, Shawn, you destroyed so many people's lives with your death. The station hasn't been the same. People don't think I'm watching, but I am. It takes a lot of effort to get the Chief out of her office and when she is, she spends it all with her family. Even McNab is lost. I've actually seen him looking for you after he has done the coffee run. Even now he still buys your drink and when he realises what he has done, he sits down and drinks it. Everyone, and I mean everyone who knows you, does something that reminds them of you and then the pain is back in their eyes and their hearts break all over again."

He finished off the drink. Dropping the bottle, Lassiter just leaned back against his seat. Putting his foot on the brake, Lassiter puts the car into drive and takes the hand brake off. He can feel the effects of the drink on him and the pulling force of sleep as well.

"I can't do it anymore, Shawn, I can't function anymore. I'm no good as a cop, no good as a man and I just can't fight it anymore. It's time for me to let go of you and just let go of life as well. I'm going to let the alcohol do its work for me and soon I hope, I will be joining you. Maybe I will land where your body is and we can be buried together."

Lassiter can no longer fight the pull of sleep and he starts to drift off. His foot starts to slip off the brake and the car starts to move forward, but suddenly, the engine stops. Opening his eyes, Lassiter is surprised to see Shawn's face in front of him.

"Shawn?"

"What is this, Lassie? What are you doing?"

"I, I can't live anymore without you."

"Pull yourself together, man. You are Carlton Lassiter, Head Detective of the Santa Barbara Police Department. Do you really think this is what I want you to do? I don't want you to die this way, I want you to live, Lassie; you have so much more to give to this world. Don't give up just yet."

"But, I miss you. I want to be with you again."

"I'm always with you, Carlton, here," Shawn hand reaches out and touches Lassiter's chest. "I'm right there with you every single day and I will always be there. Now pull yourself together and start living again. I know you can do it."

Shawn's hand moves from Lassiter chest to his face and as it slowly caresses his cheek, Lassiter promises that he will start to live again, just for Shawn.

As he drifts off, Lassiter can hear the sound of a motorbike engine as it drives away.


	3. The Next Day

Lassiter was found by McNab early the next morning. He was out on patrol and even though this spot wasn't on his route, McNab still drove past whenever he got the chance. So, when he came over the crest of the hill, his heart nearly stopped at the sight before him.

There, balancing on the cliff edge was Lassiter's car. The front wheels were over the edge and from where McNab was, he could see his Head Detective, apparently unconscious at the wheel. Pulling up he quickly jumped out and ran over to see what he could do. At first McNab was in panic mode, but Lassiter's voice entered his mind and told him, in a not so nice way, to pull himself together and straighten up.

He looked around for something to help him, but couldn't see anything. It was now that McNab thought he had gone mad, for he heard Shawn Spencer's voice calling to him.

'Buzz, tie your car to Lassie's.'

It sounded like the voice was being carried on the wind, but McNab didn't have time to think about it as he did what the voice told him to do. Rushing back to his car, McNab grabbed the rope out of the trunk and tied it to the front of his car. He then proceeded to tie the other end to Lassiter's. Once that was done he climbed back into his car and slowly reversed to take up the slack.

Once McNab was sure the car was secured, he called in for help. He first tried to pull Lassiter's car away from the edge, but his car wasn't strong enough, so he carefully moved his car around a tree for extra support and then he went back over to Lassiter's driver's door.

Being careful, as the door was close to the edge, McNab reached through the window and placed his fingers on Lassiter neck. He let out the breath he was holding when he felt a strong and steady beat. It was now that a breeze went through the car and McNab could smell the alcohol in the car.

Shaking his head, McNab just hoped that the Chief wasn't at the station when he made the call. Buzz is pulled from his thoughts when he feels his detective starting to stir under his hand.

"Easy there, Detective Lassiter."

"Mc…Nab? What…what's happening?"

"Umm…look, sir," McNab said when he noticed the car move slightly, as Lassiter tried to sit up. "You better sit still."

Lassiter gave McNab a drunken look. "Why?"

"Because, sir, your car is balancing on a cliff edge and even though I have your car tied to mine, yours just moved a little."

McNab watched as the information he had just given his detective sinks in. First there is confusion, then realization and then the shocked look where his eyes open wide with fear. McNab than watches as Lassiter reaches down to undo his seatbelt, only to notice that he didn't have it on.

Lassiter turned toward McNab. "Move…McNab."

The detective didn't need to ask twice. By the time McNab had stood up and taken one step away, Lassiter had opened his door and was diving out of it. McNab just grabbed Lassiter's arm and they both ran for it, but stopped short when they heard a groaning noise from behind. Turning, they watched as the rope broke and Lassiter's car tilted and then disappeared over the cliff. For a moment neither man could move, too shocked at how close it had been.

A few moments later the sound of sirens entered their ears, which brought them back to reality. Lassiter turn quickly, but paid the price when his head started to throb. Then the world around him started to spin and a few moments later, Lassiter was flat on the ground as he blacked out.

When Lassiter came to, he found himself in a hospital bed. Everything was hazy and his head was killing him. But it was when he went to put his hand on his head, he realised that he was strapped to the bed.

"What the…? What the hell is going on?" Lassiter yelled as he tried to free his hands.

"Easy there, Detective."

Lassiter looked to his side to find Chief Vick standing there with her arms crossed, a mixed look of anger and disappointment. Standing beside the Chief stood a man who was evidently the doctor. Lassiter calmed down a lot when he saw Chief Vick, but he still struggled against his restraints.

"What's going on, Chief? Why am I restrained?"

"It is for your own safety, Detective Lassiter…at least until we can check you out and make sure you are not a danger to yourself or anyone around you," the doctor answered.

"What are you talking about? I only had a few drinks." Lassiter knew he was lying, but he just wanted them to release him.

"Detective Lassiter…Carlton, we are just trying to help you. McNab told me about how you smelled of drink and how you nearly drove your car off the cliff." Lassiter could hear the pity in his chief's voice.

"I know what I did, Chief, but I can honestly tell you that I won't try it again. In fact, I am not planning on touching alcohol again."

"You say that now, but tomorrow is another day. Plus I wasn't just talking about the alcohol. I was talking about…"

"I know what you were talking about and you're right. I need to get over Shawn and I need to start living again. Shawn wouldn't want to see me like this, let alone kill myself this way either."

"I'm glad you're starting to understand where I'm coming from, but until the doctor here gives you the all clear to return to work, I don't want to see you anywhere near the station. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Chief."

"Doctor, I need to go right now, but please keep me informed on his progress."

"I will, Chief Vick, and don't worry Detective Lassiter is in good hands."

Chief Vick gave Lassiter a smile before leaving the doctor and Lassiter alone.

"Now, Detective Lassiter, if we can get these few tests done, you might be able to have the restrains removed."

"Thank you, Doctor. I really do need some help, big time."

With that, the doctor started his examination.


	4. Two Weeks Later

It took Lassiter two weeks before the doctor would clear him to return to work. Two weeks to prove he wasn't any danger to himself or others. Two weeks to finally deal with his drinking, anger and what he really needed to accept, Shawn's death. But the right to return to work came with conditions. One, that he didn't touch a drink; two, that unless his job needed him to be, he wasn't to go near where Shawn had died and the third and last one was that he returned for a few more sessions with the psychologist.

Over the two weeks, Lassiter had finally come to accept that he may have become an alcoholic. He had learnt to deal with his anger and that Shawn was gone, but no matter what, he will never forget Shawn and the fact that it was because of him that Shawn was dead.

So when he walked back through the door of the Santa Barbara Police Station, Detective Carlton Lassiter was a little worried as to how he was going to be received. At first no one seemed to notice him, but just as he sat down at his desk, someone placed a steaming hot coffee on the table in front of him.

Looking up, Lassiter smile as his eyes found McNab standing there, but as he looked around, he realised that just about everyone was there. Some were holding a small banner that said 'WELCOME BACK', but the main thing he saw was that they honestly seemed happy to see him. Taking a deep breath Lassiter stood up.

"Thank you. Thank you all for putting up with me for these past few years and I hope that I will be able to prove to you all that I will try and be a better person."

At first no one reacted, but then someone in the back started to clap and the rest followed suit. One by one they all welcomed him back, before returning to their own desks or jobs. Finally when the crowd dispersed, only Lassiter and McNab were left.

"We really are glad to see that you're back, sir."

"Thank you, McNab, and I'm glad to be back," Lassiter said as he looked around the bullpen.

"If you're looking for Detective O'Hara, she is in the Chief's office. They're both waiting for you."

Lassiter nodded his head, grabbed his coffee and headed over to the Chief's office. As he reached the door, a shiver went through his body. The last time he had seen this door he was walking out of it, determined to never see it again. God, he felt so lucky that he was seeing it again. After knocking and the Chief telling him to enter, he opened the door to see the two most important women in his life. Once in, Lassiter closed the door.

After he entered, Lassiter stood there studying them. Chief Vick hadn't really changed much, but the stern look on her face told him she wasn't in a good mood. O'Hara on the other hand had changed. She was a lot bigger due to the pregnancy and because of that fact she was sitting down.

"Welcome back, Detective," Chief Vick said. It was now that Lassiter noticed that she was holding the doctor's report on him.

"Thank you, Chief."

"Detective…Carlton, please sit down."

Lassiter did what was asked of him and he sat down. He was nervous. He knew that the doctor had cleared the way for him to return to work, but in the end it was always going to be the Chief's final decision.

"I see that the doctor had cleared you for light duty with a few provisions. Do you understand what he meant by that?"

"Yes, I am to do desk work, I am not allowed to carry a gun or have one in my possession. I am not to go anywhere near where Shawn had…sorry, I just can't finish that part off, and I must attend AA and some more sessions with him."

"Very well done and I do understand the reason why you didn't finish off that sentence. With the part about the gun, I will need to…"

"Already done. I had Henry Spencer come over and help me remove all of my guns and I have given them to my gun club to hold for me. I can only get them back as long as I have either Henry, McNab, O'Hara or yourself with me to confirm that I'm allowed to have them back. No letters, it has to be a real person with ID on them."

"Well done, but the doctor has also asked me to allow you to fire a gun under supervision as a stress reliever…at least once a day. So I was thinking of that being the last thing you do each night. What do you think?"

"Thank you, Chief, that sounds perfect."

"Good, but you and O'Hara are on desk duty. You will both go out there and finalise all your past cases and then you will be the paper chasers for the station. Any other officer needs records, something checked up or a report written out, that will be your jobs. Although, I think with the way O'Hara is, you will be getting the files, while she does the computer work."

"Yes, Chief," both detectives said together and that was it, the ice was now broken and Lassiter felt right at home.

After a few more guidelines that Lassiter needed to follow, he and O'Hara headed out of the Chief's office and back to their desks and paperwork. But the first thing Lassiter did was place Shawn's photo back on his desk. Smiling he got back down to work.

There wasn't much of their own paperwork to do for either detective. Lassiter had been away for a fortnight, so no cases and just a little bit of paperwork left over and O'Hara had been on desk duty for a few days now, so she, too, didn't have any of her own cases to do.

They had gone out and had lunch together and finally caught up on their lives. Turns out that she and Guster were having twins and that the babies might just come a little earlier than expected. Also that Guster had just gotten a promotion. O'Hara had also filled him in on Mr. Spencer, but Lassiter had already known most of it since Henry had been his main support through the last few weeks. As they left, Lassiter had this strange feeling that he was being watched. It was a feeling that he had a few times over the last two weeks, but still not seeing anyone, Lassiter just shrugged it off.

After they returned from lunch they finished off the day working on finding a connection between two drug dealers for Detective Milo and then Officer Mitch took Lassiter down to the firing range for his stress release session.


	5. A Threatening Note

A half hour later, when the shooting session was over, Detectives Milo and Lassiter walked back to the station. As soon as they walked into the station, Lassiter knew there was something wrong. A glance around the bullpen and he could see that Henry, Guster, and O'Hara were all in the Chief's office.

For some reason, fear started to build up in his stomach, but he didn't know why. Was it just because it's the first time since Shawn's death that they were all together in there? Lassiter was so busy concentrating on them that he didn't hear or see McNab walk up beside him.

"Sir," McNab watched as Lassiter jumped a little. "The Chief said that as soon as you got back, I'm to send you to her office."

"Do you know what for?"

"Yes sir, but I'll let the Chief tell you."

Before Lassiter could ask what he meant by that, McNab had already walked away. Heading over to the Chief's office, Lassiter knocked and waited for the Chief to tell him that he could enter. When she did, Lassiter could hear the strain in her voice.

As Lassiter entered, he looked around at the faces looking back at him. He was still worried as to why they were all there, but he was sure he would know very soon and he wasn't too sure that he wanted to.

"Chief, you wanted to see me."

"Yes Detective, please sit down."

"I would rather stand if you don't mind, Chief."

"Very well, I guess you are wondering why we are all here."

"A little, but I'm sure you will fill us in."

"Well, yes, I am going to tell you. While you were at the firing range we received this note." Chief Vick passed Lassiter an evidence bag with a piece of paper in it.

Lassiter gave everyone a quick glance before he looked at the note. The paper seemed to be just like any other piece of paper he had ever seen, but once he read what was written on it he understood why they were all there. After looking at them all again, Lassiter reread the note just to make sure he didn't misread it.

'To the Santa Barbara finest, 

Detective's Carlton Lassiter and Juliet O'Hara, Chief Karen Vick, Mr. Henry Spencer, Officer Buzz McNab and Mr. Burton Guster, I am coming for you. You have hurt and caused me pain, but by the time I'm finished with you the pain you will feel will have you begging me to end your lives. I promise you that. 

As the storm clouds roll over Santa Barbara and as darkness falls, so will you all, one at a time.

Death to all who say they love.'

Lassiter carefully handed the note back to the Chief. This was all he needed right now.

"In order to find this person, I need you all to have a look around and see what cases you have all worked on.

The colour drained from Gus' face. "But we, I guess we will all have to go back to before…before Shawn died."

"Why do you say that?" Lassiter barked at him.

"Because that would be the last time we all worked on a case together."

"Just take care of your wife and unborn children, Mr. Guster, and get out of my way."

Gus stood to face Lassiter.

"Carlton, Gus, stop it." Juliet said getting up and standing between them. "Carlton, I know you don't want to hear it, but Gus is right, it's the only time we all worked together."

"Well then, we're just missing one thing."

"And what's that, Detective?" Chief Vick asked.

"The note only mentioned us, not Shawn."

"Then they already know that Shawn is dead and they don't need to go after him."

"Or…" Henry added. Everyone looked at him and they could see that Henry was deep in thought.

"Or what, Henry?" Chief Vick asked him.

"No, it can't…look…just don't worry about…it was just a stupid idea," Henry said looking at Gus.

"Or, it's Shawn, that's what you were thinking, wasn't it?"

Henry just nodded his head. Both he and Gus knew Shawn, they knew what he was capable of and if he was really hurting and blamed them, may god help them.

"Could we all have been wrong? Could Shawn really be alive, Mr. Spencer?"

Gus never got the answer, or rather never had the chance to hear it. He didn't even see the punch coming, but he sure as hell felt it, and the table, as he fell on it.

Gus didn't get the chance to retaliate as Lassiter was already out the door. He didn't care if the Chief sent him home again or even fired him this time. All Lassiter cared about was that this was the first time he had felt anything except anger, since Shawn had gone.

Lassiter just walked back to his desk and ignored the commotion in the Chief's office as the ME rushed in there to treat Gus' injuries. Lassiter just couldn't believe that Henry and Guster could even think that if Shawn were alive, he would do something like this to them.

Lassiter did look up and he did feel a little guilty as the ambulance was called and had taken both O'Hara and Guster away. Seemed that Guster's head had hit the table harder than he thought and from the stress, it looked like O'Hara had gone into labour.

After a stern talking to, Chief Vick ordered that McNab was to stay with Detective Lassiter until the author of the note was found and for now, they were both sent over to the hospital to check up on Gus and Juliet. Chief Vick also ordered Lassiter to apologise to both of them and to give his doctor a call.

And that was just what Lassiter did as he and McNab left the station. But neither one noticing the customised motorbike on the other side of the road, or did they notice its rider was watching them leave.


	6. And Now the Hurting Starts

Two hours! That was how long they had been waiting at the hospital before they got any news about either Gus or Juliet.

In those two hours, Lassiter had managed to talk to his doctor, who had advised him to stay at the hospital and not only apologise to Gus and Juliet, but also to Henry and Chief Vick. But that was easier said than done.

Henry had arrived at the hospital about an hour earlier and since then the waiting room had been full of tension. Lassiter sat on one side with his head in his hands thinking about what he was going to say to O'Hara and Guster, while Henry was sitting on the other side, just staring at Lassiter.

Not a word had been spoken by either man. They just stared at each other or checked their phones. A few times Henry had stood up and gone for a short walk, but was never gone long.

Henry knew that he was being stubborn, that after all Lassiter had been through since Shawn's death and now, just coming to terms with it, he didn't need to be told that Shawn could still be alive. Let alone that Shawn could be out to get them. Henry couldn't blame Lassiter for the way he reacted, but Gus is like a son to Henry and with Shawn gone, his only son.

Lassiter sat there and wished that Henry would just yell at him. He didn't mean for Guster to be hurt, but then again, he wasn't expecting Guster to accuse Shawn of still being alive and possibly out there, angry at them.

Chief Vick was sitting in her office finalising a few things before she could go to the hospital. Letting out a sigh, Chief Vick leant back in her chair. She could see where Lassiter was coming from. They had just managed to convince him to let go of Shawn. Then, both Henry and Gus had suggested that Shawn could still be alive. Chief Vick could see Lassiter losing it and when Gus said that maybe Shawn was the author of the letter…it pushed Lassiter over the edge.

Even the idea that, after all these years, Shawn was still alive didn't sit well with her, but on the other hand. It did seem a little suspicious that the note came now, when everyone was finally moving on. Shaking her head, Chief Vick just hoped that whoever this is could be stopped before too many people get hurt. Looking at the clock, Chief Vick decided that she would finish off the paper work tomorrow. Right now she wanted to check up on O'Hara. But as she was getting ready to leave there was a knock on her door.

"Come in."

Officer Walker opened the door and walked in. He gave Chief Vick a strange look before turning and closing the door behind him.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm sorry Chief Vick, but I need to report an accident to you."

"And…?"

"And…I'm sorry Ma'am, but it was your husband."

"What?" Chief Vick said standing up.

"Your husband has been taken to the hospital. It looks like a hit and run, but there is something else I need to tell you…"

Chief Vick slowly sat down as Officer Walker started to explain what the certain things were.

Back at the hospital one of the doctors had arrived to give some information on Gus.

"Mr. Guster has a nasty bruise on his forehead and a bad headache, but otherwise, he should be fine."

"Can we see him?" Henry asked.

"Not right now. Mr. Guster is with his wife, waiting for the arrival of their child. As soon as I can, I will let you know when you will be able to see both of them."

After the doctor left, Henry and Lassiter went back to the same seats they had been sitting in. But Lassiter couldn't take the stares for Henry anymore, so he stood and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Henry asked.

"For a walk, I need some air, if that is ok with you?"

"Just make sure it's only air you get."

"I'm just going to get air, nothing else," Lassiter said walking over to where Henry was sitting.

"I was just making sure," Henry said standing up to be eye level with Lassiter.

"Chief Vick," McNab said, causing the two men to turn around.

They were both expecting Chief Vick to take a strip off them for fighting, but instead, the haunting look on her face left them both scared.

Henry was the first to recover and walked over to her. "Karen…what's wrong?"

"He…has Iris."

"Who has Iris?" Lassiter asked as he joined them.

But Chief Vick looked like she was about to collapse so both Henry and Lassiter helped her to have a seat.

"Karen, look at me."

"Henry," Chief Vick said her eyes full of tears. "Just as I was getting ready to leave to come here, Officer Walker came in to let me know that Richard had been involved in a hit and run."

"Is he alright?"

"I don't know, Richard is still with the doctor, but witness say that the man who hit him stopped and…"

"And what…"

"He took Iris. He just took her."

"No one tried to stop him?" Lassiter asked.

"They just thought he was getting her out of the car and before they realised what was happening they were both gone."

"Did they get a description of the car he was driving?"

"Yes, a white Captiva, but he left this behind." Chief Vick handed over a piece of paper.

"It's just a copy."

Lassiter read the note out loud.

'Are you hurting yet? 

The loss of a child is a pain no parent should feel. 

Chief Karen Vick, I have your daughter, Iris. 

Just like her mother she is beautiful. 

Hope she stays that way.' 

As Lassiter finished reading, Chief Vick started crying again and Henry pulled her into a tighter hold. Looking up at Lassiter Henry could see the same anger in Lassiter's eyes that he was feeling. Both men knew that they needed to let go of their anger towards each other. They now shared a common goal and that was to find Iris Vick and bring her home.


	7. No Love from Shawn

When the doctor entered the waiting room, he found a woman who looked like she had been crying, sitting on one of the seats. On either side of her sat two men that were talking to each other. But the moment they saw the doctor standing there, they were as quiet as a mouse. 

“I’m looking for the group waiting on news about Detective Juliet Guster?” 

“That us,” Chief Vick said as she stood up. “I’m her Chief.” 

“Very well, Detective Guster and her baby are both doing well. Would you like to see her or wait for her husband?” 

“Mr. Guster is somewhere in the hospital at the moment. He had fallen and hit his head, so we’re waiting to hear on him too,” Henry answered. 

“Right, well…if you’d like I could go and see if I can find something out about him?” 

“That would be nice, thank you,” Chief Vick said as she sat back down. 

The doctor watched as the two men re-joined the Chief of Police. He could tell that there was something wrong, but he thought that maybe hearing how Mr. Guster was doing might just help so he headed out to see what information he could find for them. 

After the doctor left, Lassiter asked the question everyone was thinking. “Should we tell the Guster’s about Iris?” 

“No,” Chief Vick snapped. “Not yet, anyway. Juliet is here because the stress caused her to go into labour and we really need to see what condition Mr. Guster is in before we give him this type of news.” 

“It’s your call, Chief. So if that’s what you want, then so be it,” Lassiter said. 

Just then, McNab walked in the door. 

“McNab, how is Richard?” Chief Vick asked as she stood up. 

“Mr. Vick is fine, Chief. He has a few cuts here and there, a nasty one above his right eye and bruises from the seat belt, but otherwise, he is just fine. In fact the doctor said he was very lucky that it wasn’t worse.” 

“Thank god,” she said as she sat back down. 

“Have you heard any other news?” Henry asked. 

“About Detective Guster and Mr. Guster?” 

“No, about…” Henry looked at Karen then turned back to continue what he was saying. “About Iris?” 

“Sorry, there hasn’t been anything yet, but trust me, Chief, every available officer is out there looking for her.” 

“Thank you, McNab, but they shouldn’t be neglecting their cases for Iris. They need to work on them, too.” 

“They are, but anyone who leaves the station for anything is keeping their ears and eyes open. Would you like me to go and see if I can find out anything on the Guster’s?” 

“No,” Lassiter answered. “The doctor’s already been in and told us that Juliet and the baby are doing fine. He’s just left to see what he can find out about Guster.” 

“Very well, sir,” McNab said as he moved a little to the side and stood there with his hands behind his back. 

The room was now silent. Not a word was uttered and no one made eye contact with anyone else. They were so lost in their own thoughts that they didn’t notice all the security officers running around until the doctor walked back through the door. 

“You have news on Mr. Guster?” 

“Yes and…” the doctor looked at all the faces looking at him, “no.” 

“What do you mean yes and no?” 

“Yes, I have news on Mr. Guster; his surgery went well and…” The doctor paused as he swallowed hard. “His recovery was going well, but…” 

“But…what?” Lassiter barked. 

“He’s missing.” 

“What do you mean he’s missing?” This time it was Henry who asked. 

“He had already been moved into a room, but when I went to check on him he wasn’t there. I checked with the nurse and it seems someone claiming to be from radiology took him down for some X-rays, but…” 

“No one from radiology came for Gus did they?” Henry said quietly. 

“No, and…Detective Guster and the baby are missing too. We have every staff member and security looking for them.” 

“First Iris and now Guster, Juliet and the baby, what’s next?” Lassiter asked as he walked towards the door. 

But he stopped, when someone appeared in front of him. It was a man and he was holding something in his hand. 

“Detective Lassiter?” 

“Yes.” 

“This is for you.” The man handed his an envelope and then started to walk away. 

“Just a minute, who gave this to you?” 

“It arrived in my mail box this morning with the instructions on it to give it to you here.” 

Lassiter looked down at the envelope which did have said instructions; it was also covered in pictures of Lassie. As he opened it, Lassiter walked slowly back over to the rest of the group, including the doctor. Inside was another note. 

‘By now you will know that I have Jules, Gus and their baby. I will enjoy watching the doctors running around looking for them, but they are already far away. 

Time is ticking down and soon it will run out. I’m sure you have already worked out who I am, but for those too slow, yes it is me. 

I told you not to do anything stupid, Lassie, because I want you to suffer, just like I did. 

I WANT TO KILL YOU MYSELF, CARLTON! 

And I will, after you watch everyone else die in front of you. 

No love from me, 

Shawn!’ 

“You can stop looking for them, Doctor, they’re not here.” 

“I will call the search off and…I’m sorry about this.” With that the doctor was gone. 

After a few words, everyone else also left. Chief Vick and McNab went to check on her husband, while Lassiter and Henry headed off to inform the officers back at the station as to what is happening.


	8. The Written Truth

Over the next few hours everything was a blur. After checking on her husband, Chief Vick and McNab made their way back to the station. There they found a task force had already been setup to find either Shawn or those that were missing. 

A lump formed in her throat as she saw her daughter’s picture on the crime board along with pictures of her husband, Juliet, Guster and a faceless picture of a baby, which she assumed was to represent their baby. 

On the other side of the board were pictures of Shawn, including ones used to age him, to give them some idea what he might look like now. Looking around, Chief Vick spied Lassiter and Henry in her office and they were leaning over something that was on her desk. 

After giving the pictures one more glance, Chief Vick headed over to her office and walked straight in. 

“What have you two got?” 

Both men looked up. They could hear a waver in the Chief’s voice and on sight she wasn’t much better. The look in her eyes told them that the Chief had been crying and that she should be by her husband’s side, not at the station. But they also knew that she needed to be doing something, otherwise she would go mad. 

Giving each other a quick glance, Lassiter gave Henry a quick nod before clearing his throat. “Henry was just showing me places where he thinks Shawn used to go when he was a kid.” 

“We’re seeing if any of them could be a place where he could have taken…” Henry paused, looking back up at Karen before continuing, “the others.” 

“And do you have any?” 

“Not yet,” Lassiter answered her. “So far they’re either too small or in too much of a public place, or they’ve been pulled down. 

“Henry…do you really think that Shawn could do this? I mean…we were so sure that he was dead and…” 

“And what’s the chance of him being alive, let alone being physically able to kidnap people? I don’t know, I really don’t know. We’ve got the notes off to the handwriting people to confirm that Shawn wrote them, but to be honest, I can’t see Shawn doing this. No matter what, I really don’t believe it’s in Shawn’s nature.” 

“I hope you’re right,” Chief Vick said as she wrapped her arms around herself. 

“Look, Chief, why don’t you sit down?” Lassiter asked with concern in his voice. 

Chief Vick just nodded her head, walked around the desk and sat down in her chair. It had been too long of a day and it didn’t look like it was going to get better any time soon. 

Letting out a sigh, Chief Vick looked at the map. They had several places marked in a red circle and over half of them had been crossed off. To be honest the map was starting to look like a noughts and crosses game. 

“Henry, I know that you are marking off places Shawn used to go to when he was a kid, but what about now, as an adult?” 

“We did think about that, but Gus would have known those places better than me.” 

“What about you, Carlton?” 

“Me?” 

“Yes, you and Shawn dated before you got married right? Where did you two go on your dates?” 

“We did go on a few, mostly movie theatres, a few restaurants and the occasional night club when Shawn could get me to go, but because of the pain in his legs, we stayed home more than going out, but…” 

“But what?” Henry asked knowing that look in the Detective’s eyes. 

“Shawn loved to go down to the pier and get ice cream from a little shop there.” 

“Icequnnie?” 

“Yes, Henry, Icequnnie’s, how…” 

“I used to take Shawn there when he was a kid. It’s closed now, but the building’s still there…empty.” 

“Might be a good idea to send some officers to check it out and…” Just then there was a knock on her door. “Enter!” 

“Sorry to disturb you, Chief, but the results of the note and the handwriting are back.” 

“And, Officer Grey,” Lassiter asked, “what are the results?” 

“The handwriting is a match to the sample that was given of Shawn Spencer’s handwriting.” 

“Thank you, Officer Grey,” Chief Vick said. “Please add it to the crime board.” 

“Yes Ma’am,” Officer Grey said before leaving. 

“So it is Shawn,” Lassiter said more to himself than anyone else in the room. “This is all my fault.” 

“How do you work that out?” 

“I’m the one that lied to Shawn and had your son thinking I was having an affair on him, that’s how it’s my fault.” 

“No, it isn’t,” Henry snapped. “It’s not your fault. You were doing your job and trying to protect him. Shawn should have known better.” 

“Maybe, but…” 

“Henry’s right, Carlton, but I also believe Henry when he says that he doesn’t think Shawn is capable of this. I believe there is something else going on; we just don’t know what yet.” 

“It’s me,” Lassiter said standing up straight and walking over to the door. There he looked out at the crime board. “He’s said it was my fault.” 

“When? When did he…?” 

“When he said that he saved me from going over the edge of that hill so he could kill me himself, that’s when. Because of me, because of what I did to him, others are getting hurt. I love him, Henry, I always will, but it’s up to me to stop him.” And with that Lassiter stormed out of the Chief’s office and then out of the station. 

“I think we all need to get some sleep. You and I, and Carlton, are too close to this. Go home, Henry. Come back tomorrow and we will start again.” 

“What are you going to do?” 

“I’m going to get McNab to take me back to the hospital.” 

“Ok, Chief. I will see if I can find Lassiter and let him know. Goodnight.” 

“Goodnight, Henry.” Chief Vick watched him leave before calling McNab back to her office. 

Henry walked down the stairs of the station and out to where the cars were parked. Lassiter’s was already gone, so he climbed into this truck and rang Lassiter’s number. 

Lassiter hadn’t gone far before he had pulled over after realising what he had just done. He was just getting ready to turn back when his phone rang…it was Henry. 

“Yes, Henry?” 

“Carlton, the Chief said…what the…Shawn…no…” 

“Henry, Henry what’s going on?” 

“Sorry, Lassie dear, but my dad can’t talk right now, but don’t worry about him, soon he will be with the others and then…the blood will flow.” 

“Shawn…god…don’t…” 

All Lassiter could now hear was the dial tone coming through the phone he was holding. Throwing the car into drive, Lassiter raced back to the station. He just prayed he was going to be on time.


	9. And the Killing Game Beginnings

Standing on the station’s stairs, Chief Vick and McNab watched as Lassiter’s car turned into the stations car park at full speed, stopping just behind Henry’s pickup. They then watched as he jumped out, drawing his gun at the same time and slowly moved towards the open driver’s door.

Worried that Lassiter may have finally lost it, Chief Vick sent McNab back into the station to get backup while she moved towards Lassiter’s car.

Meanwhile, Lassiter had reached the open door. Taking a deep breath, he steadied his gun and swung around, aiming at the spot where Henry should have been, but no one was there. 

‘Damn it!’ Lassiter thought, ‘they’re gone.'

“Detective Lassiter! Put down your gun!” Chief Vick called out. She hoped that Lassiter would do just that and they could take him in without too much trouble.

As Lassiter turned to look at her, he saw McNab and three other officers approaching, their guns drawn. He also saw that Chief Vick was using his car as a shield. It was now that Lassiter realised how it must have looked when he came racing in, blocking Henry's pick-up and approaching Henry's open door with his gun drawn.

“Chief, this isn't what it looks like.” Lassiter held his arms up, gun hanging loosely in his hand. “Shawn was just here and he's taken Henry.”

McNab and one of the other officers approached Lassiter and after taking his gun, McNab looked inside the cab of Henry's Pick-up. Once sure the cab was clear, McNab nodded to the Chief, who moved forward.

What do you mean Shawn has taken Henry?”

“Henry had called me and while we were on the phone...I'm not too sure, but...Henry said Shawn's name and then Shawn came on the phone saying that Henry couldn't talk right now. I could hear Henry in the background saying ‘Shawn...don't’ then Shawn said something like ‘Henry was with the others and now blood will start flowing’. I tried to get back here in time, but,” Lassiter then looked back at the open door, “I was too late.” 

Lassiter looked at Chief Vick and she could see the anguish and frustration on his face.

“Ok, I believe you; give him his gun back, McNab.” McNab did as he was told. He also handed an evidence bag with a note in it to the Chief. “What's this?”

“It was on the seat, Chief.”

Lassiter put his gun away and walked over to Chief Vick. As he approached, he could see fear in her eyes and as she looked up at him, she handed Lassiter the note.

'Speed won't do you any good,   
I have them all just like I should.  
Children crying,   
Adults dying.  
The pain is flowing.  
Catch me if you can.'

Lots of hate,  
Shawn!'

Chief Vick was now worried. The look on Lassiter's face was no longer reflecting frustration, but anger. But what was he angry at? Shawn, himself...what?

“Are you ok, Carlton?”

“No! No I'm not ok. Iris, Guster, Juliet, their child and now Henry, Shawn has them all and it's my fault!”

“No, it's Shawn's fault and we will find them, alive.”

“You can believe that, I don't. If I had been honest with Shawn in the first place, he wouldn't be out there killing...”

“Stop it, Carlton! As far as we know, no one is dead yet. There is always hope and it's not your fault that Shawn didn't realise that you were doing an undercover job. So stop feeling sorry for yourself and get in there and give us everything you know or heard during that phone call.” 

“It's still my fault, but you're right, I'll just move my car and I'll be in.”

Chief Vick watched as Lassiter walked around his car and climbed inside, shaking her head, she started to wonder just how the hell they got to this. After Lassiter moved his car, Chief Vick and McNab headed towards the station to let the forensic team examine Henry's pick-up, stopping on the stairs to wait for Lassiter.

Lassiter was just about to climb out of his car when his phone started to ring. Answering it, he was surprised to hear Shawn's voice on the other end.

“Hi, Lassie,”

“Shawn, look...I'm the one you want, come and get me, let the others go. Please?”

“Awe, Lassie, do you really think this is all about you. Well, big news, it's not. They also hurt me and I'm going to hurt you all. Oh...look over at the park.”

Lassiter did what he was told and looked out of his passenger window. There, across the road was parked a strange looking motor bike. It was all black, but where most motor bikes had two wheels, this one had a front one and two at the back. It looked like it had been custom made to accommodate a wheelchair and the rider, all dressed in black, was waving at him.

“Nice to see you again, Lassie.”

“Is that really you Shawn?” Lassiter needed to know as the rider still had on his helmet visor down.

“Yes Lassie, it's me and...as I said, time for the blood to flow.”

Lassiter watched as Shawn raised his hand with something in it. The fear just hit him when he realised that it was a detonator switch and knowing that Shawn already said he would watch everyone die, the bomb wasn't in his car, but Henry's pick-up.

Jumping out of his car, Lassiter screamed at the forensic team to run, but he was too late. Before he could take one step he was hit by the heatwave from the explosion, sending him flying backwards into his own car. 

Chief Vick and McNab were also thrown into the bushes that lined the stairs. Watching from where they had landed, they saw the ball of fire rise into the sky. 

Lassiter then looked over to where Shawn had been, only to see the motor bike drive off.

As he started to black out, Lassiter only had one thought on his mind. 'Shawn has now started to kill.'


	10. Nightmare

Lassiter was sitting in the park, the same park where he and Shawn use to go when they wanted some time alone. He sat there looking out at the calm blue ocean that was just beyond the white sand beach. 

Smiling, he watched a runner on the beach and then turned to see where the bird that he could hear singing might be. It was a perfect spring day. More birds started to sing, the smell of the blooming flowers hung in the air and the sound of laughter slowly reached his ears. Lassiter breathed in the sweet, fresh spring air and a calm he had never known washed over him. 

As Lassiter returned to look out over the water things started to change. Like a storm rolling in, the ocean turned from the light blue to a dark purple and the waves started to smash angrily on to the beach, washing away the sand and leaving behind sharp jagged rocks.

The wind had picked up and ripped at his clothing. No longer could he hear the birds and the laughter had now turned to screams. The blue sky was covered in near black clouds with lightning cutting across it, lighting up a scene of destruction all around. 

Dread suddenly filled Lassiter's heart, but he wasn’t sure why. Then, another flash of lightning, but this time the light it made didn’t go away in a flash. Instead, it illuminated the area in an eerie glow. 

The park around him was destroyed. The trees are uprooted. The flowers and grass are dead or dying and the people that were in the park now huddle together in fear. Lassiter has a growing urge to tell them everything is going to be alright, but he can't talk. The once sweet air is now filled with smoke, which burned his lungs.

Then he felt it, a low rumbling sound that was coming from behind him. Slowly but surely, the sound grew into a deafening roar. Turning, Lassiter was now facing his greatest fear...the rider in black. He is sitting on the modified motor bike and the visor was down, so Lassiter still couldn't see the rider's face.

Lassiter watched as the rider put his hands down and then wheeled himself off the back of the bike. It was true; the bike had been made to accommodate a rider that was in a wheelchair. Soon the rider was right in front of him. Lassiter watched in horror as the rider pushed himself up. This made Lassiter afraid and soon, he was standing face to visor with the rider.

He wanted to say something, anything, to the rider. He wanted to know if he really was Shawn or some cruel bastard that was playing a sick joke on him, but Lassiter couldn't talk. Fear had muted the once strong detective.

But when the rider went to lift his visor, Lassiter stumble backwards as he watched Henry Spencer's pick-up explode into a ball of fire. Suddenly, Lassiter spun around to look at the crowd of people that had been huddling in fear, just in time to see a lightning bolt strike them and their bodies burst into flames.

Sick to the stomach, Lassiter felt the anger build up inside of him. Turning back to the rider, Lassiter is shocked to see, not the rider dressed all in black, but Shawn standing there, dressed in his blue jeans and Apple Jacks T-shirt. But Lassiter's whole body starts to shake as an evil grin appeared on Shawn's face. Shawn's eyes also shown with pure anger and hatred, but it was when Shawn's voice reached him that Lassiter knew he could no longer hold it in. 

And as Shawn's voice echoed with a laugher he never wanted to hear again, Lassiter screamed out Shawn's name.

“SHAWN....NO....”

Lassiter bolted upright in the bed he had been lying in and before he could do much more, strong hands were pushing him back down. Looking around, but not really seeing, Lassiter desperately searched for Shawn or the black rider, but he found neither. Instead he found McNab standing over him.

“McNab...where am I?”

“Hospital, sir.”

“Are you and the Chief alright?”

“I am, but the Chief, well...”

Lassiter watched as McNab looked down at his feet. “What about the Chief? She, is...?”

“We don't know.”

“What do you mean?”

“I...I mean sir, just that. We don't know how the Chief is.”

“Why?” Lassiter had a funny feeling he already knew and was going to hate the answer to this question.

“She was gone. After the fire was put out and...they found me in the bushes, we realised that the Chief was missing. After a search, we found this on her desk.” McNab's shaking hands passed Lassiter an evidence bag. Inside the bag was a note.

'Lassie Dear, 

Now I have my final player in the game.

You have two days before you start finding their bodies lying in the streets.

But in the mean time I will have fun with them.

If you are half the man that you think you are,

See if you can find them in time.

See you in hell,

Shawn.'

Now wasn't time for Lassiter to just lie in bed. He had his friends, his family to find, but most of all, he had Shawn to find and hopefully stop him before more people died.


	11. The Search Begins

Lassiter waited patiently for the doctor to give him the all clear to leave. The dream, or rather nightmare, was still echoing around in his head. But as soon as he was clear, Lassiter and McNab were out of the hospital and on their way to the station.

When Lassiter walked into the bullpen, all eyes were on him. With their Chief missing, Lassiter was really the only other senior officer the rest of the station trusted. As Lassiter walked past the watching eyes, he could see the anger, sadness and the look of confusion and loss in every one of them. Stopping just in front of the Chief's office door, Lassiter took a deep breath, steadied his nerves and pushed down his anger before turning to face his fellow officers.

"As you all know, over the last few days we have lost several members of this station. First it was Chief Vick's daughter Iris and then Detective Guster, her husband and their child. I'm not sure what you actually know about what happened yesterday afternoon, but Henry Spencer was also taken and the suspect had placed a bomb in Mr. Spencer's pick-up, in which, as Officer McNab has informed me, several officers were either killed or injured. It has also been brought to my attention that the suspect had also taken Chief Vick in the confusion."

Lassiter stood there as he watched all the officers start to talk amongst themselves. He could see that some of the information he had given was already know to them and the rest had caused a bit of a stir, but he still had the biggest bit of news yet to come. Raising his hands, Lassiter waited until everyone had quieted down and was looking at him again.

"What I'm sure you don't know is who the suspect is." Lassiter looked down at his hands, they were shaking, if he was wrong, if...if someone else was playing them and it wasn't Shawn doing this, could he forgive himself for running Shawn's name though the mud. But if it is Shawn, they needed to stop him before more people died. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Lassiter looked back up and took a deep breath. "The suspect is someone we thought was dead, but recently, evidence has indicated that may not be fact and the suspect is to be treated just like any other suspect. I don't want anyone taking the law into their own hands. We have already lost good people to this person and I would hate to lose anymore."

"Detective Lassiter, who is the suspect?"

Lassiter looked out into the crowd of faces, but wasn't sure who had asked. He knew he was trying to put off saying the name, but he also knew it was time. "We believe the suspect to be Shawn Spencer. Just before Henry Spencer was taken, I was on the phone with him and I heard Henry calling out Shawn's name. I also received a phone call from Shawn just before the bomb went off. I believe Shawn is using a black motor bike that has been modified to accommodate a wheelchair."

"Detective, what do you want us to do if we see the suspect?"

"Whatever you do, do not approach the suspect on your own. Call it in and watch the suspect from a distance. We already know he is dangerous. Do I make myself clear?" Lassiter watched as everyone nodded their understanding. "Now let's get out there and find our Chief and fellow officers."

With those words, every officer headed off to do whatever they could do to find their missing colleagues. Lassiter just hoped that they would be in time. He knew they had a deadline, two days, but he didn't panic everyone so that mistakes would be made.

Some officers headed out to see if they could find the motor bike, while a small group kept working on the cases that still had to be solved. Lassiter knew that when anyone was out of the station, they would be looking, but the other current cases still needed to be solved. The rest started ringing around their contacts and informants in hopes of getting some sort of lead.

Taking this time to think, Lassiter went and sat down in the Chief's office. He couldn't believe this was happening. How? How did it come to this? How did things that were going so well, suddenly turn upside down in a blink of an eye. He guessed it was easy for this to happen, but no matter how angry, how crazy Shawn had become, Lassiter just couldn't see Shawn hurting anyone, let alone killing them.

But yet, everything is telling him that Shawn IS doing this.

Shaking his head, Lassiter really didn't know what to do. Leaning forward, he put his elbows on to the desk, resting his head in his hands. He was stressed. First he had to accept that Shawn was dead, and now it looks like Shawn is alive and has become a killer, all because of him and a god damn kiss.

Suddenly, Lassiter is brought out of his thoughts by the phone ringing. He reached over and picked it up.

"Detective Lassiter here, how can I help you?"

"You sound tired, Lassie. Are you sure you should be out of hospital yet?"

"Shawn?" Lassiter said as he sat up straight. "Where are you?"

"Now, that would be telling, wouldn't it?"

"Please, Shawn, don't do this. Just tell me where you are or at lease where the others are."

"No! You all hurt me and you all are going to pay."

"Officers Nielson and Todd didn't hurt you. They weren't even here when you were and now one is dead and the other is fighting for his life." Lassiter was over it. Shawn had played his final hand and Lassiter was sick and tired of it. "And what did Iris Vick and O'Hara and Guster's new born child do to you? Nothing! They did nothing to you, it was all me. I'm the one that kissed you and made you run in front of that truck and it was me that allowed you to think that I was having an affair in order to bring down those blackmailers. Me! No one else. Not the Chief, not O'Hara or Guster or your dad. It was me and me alone. And I promise you, Shawn, it is going to be me that is going to bring you down and bring them home safe and sound. Do you understand? It is going to be me. I love you and I always will, but I can't let you hurt any more people."

Lassiter didn't realised that he had started to stand up and raised his voice as he was talking. He also didn't see McNab walk in, leaving the door wide open. But when he heard the claps from the officers that had over heard him talking, he was glad that they did.

"Fine, if you think you can bring me down, do it! But you have to find me first and trust me, I will have killed one of them long before you do that."

"I promise you, if you have killed any of them, I will kill you with my bare hands."

Lassiter shivered as an evil laugh echoed down the line. The same laugh he had heard in his dream. Then the line went dead. Slamming down the receiver, Lassiter stormed out of the Chief's office and started throwing orders around.

No matter what, Shawn was going down and if it did come down to someone's blood being spilled, it was going to be Shawn's and only Shawn's.


	12. The Underground Cold Rooms

Lassiter left the bare minimum staff at the station, while the rest went out looking for Shawn and the others. They had to stay in pairs and for no reason were they to approach Shawn if found.

Slowly, every part of Santa Barbara was being searched, from the high class areas to the abandoned warehouses and gang hideouts. Anywhere and everywhere that Shawn could have ever had a chance to hide a group of people without being seen were covered by the police. But by the end of the first day not a sign, not a hint as to where they could be was found.

Due to the fear that Shawn hadn't finished taking victims, Lassiter had ordered that no officer was to be alone and that's how it came to be that Lassiter was lying on the bed in the spare room of McNab's home. All he was truly grateful for was that McNab's wife was away visiting her parents right now.

He couldn't sleep, partly out of fear of having that dream again and partly because his mind wouldn't let him. It kept going over and over the places they had already searched and where to search next. He knew that he should sleep, that...that if he didn't he was going to make a mistake and someone else was going to die, so he forced his eyes to close. It didn't take him long to drift off into a restless sleep and even less time before the dreams started.

At first, it was just him and Shawn, happy with their life and the way it was going, but soon the storm clouds started to roll in. Shawn was now in a wheelchair. Not the one he had seen him in, no, this one was hell on wheels. Sharp jagged edges were sticking out everywhere and it was motorised. Instead of it being just plan black, it was black with dark red, blue and purple flames all over it and Shawn face wasn't covered.

Standing nearby was the Chief and everyone else that was missing. Their hands were tied above their heads and they were hanging from the roof. Their battered and bruised bodies had blood running down them, pooling underneath them. Suddenly the motor on the bike roared to life and Shawn moved towards the hanging bodies. Before Lassiter could do anything, the sharp edges of the bike were shredding their bodies to pieces and little Iris was standing there holding the baby and he watched in horror as blood splattered all over the two children.

As the blades started to cut Henry, Lassiter heard him call out to him with his dying breath. 'Remember the underground cold rooms', and then there was silence. No screams. No motor and no noise at all. Just blood! Blood and broken bodies. In his head, Lassiter heard Shawn's voice, 'it was your fault and now you have to live with their deaths'.

It was now that Lassiter shot up in the bed. He was breathing heavily and sweat was running down his face. Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed, Lassiter sat there trying to shake the images from his head. He wasn't going to let this happen. This dream wasn't going to be the way this was going to end.

Getting up, Lassiter made his way to the bathroom so he could splash some cold water on his face. Allowing the cool water to run down his face, Lassiter stared into the mirror. He was old, and was getting older every second as this drew on. As he wiped his hand over his face, Henry's words echoed in his mind again. 'Remember the underground cold rooms.'

What underground cold rooms? Thinking hard, Lassiter tried to think what it could mean and then it hit him. He remembered Shawn once tell him something about an old butcher shop or slaughter house that had the cold rooms underground. Could this be where Shawn was holding them? There were very few who would even remember the place, let alone where it is. Racing out of the bathroom, Lassiter called out to McNab.

"McNab, wakeup! We need to go somewhere."

McNab heard the head detective calling out and thought he was just having another nightmare, but when he realised that the call was coming from the lounge room, he quickly dressed and joined the detective near the front door.

"Sir?"

"We need to go to the records room at City Hall."

"If you don't mind me asking, why?"

"I think I know where Shawn has everybody, but I need to find where it is. It's a group of underground cold rooms..."

"You mean the ones at the old slaughter house?"

"Yes, do you know where they are?"

"Sure, my great grandfather worked there and my dad used to take me there and show me as he told me all about them."

"Right, instead, we need to go there."

"Should we call it in first?"

"No, I want to see if there is any sign that it's the right place before calling everyone off the search."

"Yes Sir," and with that McNab grabbed his keys and they headed out.

They drove past the outskirts of Santa Barbara and its welcoming sign. Half an hour later they reached the spot and the rising sun's rays illuminated the area.

"Over there, sir," McNab said as they climbed out of the car. "Inside that old shed is the doorway to the cold rooms."

"Ok, let's have a look." Lassiter started to walk over to the shed but stopped when he heard the sound of a motor. Both men quickly hid behind some trees and watched as the custom motor bike drove out of the old rickety shed and off down the road. "Right, we know we have the right spot and we know Shawn isn't here. You call it in while I go down and see if I can find the others."

"Yes sir, and..." McNab paused as Lassiter looked back at him, smiling, before he finished off his sentence. "Be careful."

"I will be," Lassiter replied still smiling and then headed off towards the shed.

McNab watched as Detective Lassiter disappeared into the shed. He then took out his phone and started to call the station, but as he turned around, a fist collided with his jaw and McNab stumbled backwards. He tried to recover, but before he could his assailant struck him with a lump of wood or a baseball bat.

After McNab hit the ground he saw a wheelchair pass by him, crashing his phone into the ground and then disappear into the shed.

Then everything went black.


	13. The Request

Lassiter looked around the old shed. It looked a lot smaller on the outside then it really was. He found tracks from the wheelchair leading from one spot across the floor to a door on the far side of the shed.

Walking over to it, Lassiter pulled the door open, only to reveal a ramp leading downwards into the ground. Looking behind himself once more, Lassiter walked through the door and started to follow the ramp. It wound around and around leading down further and further underground.

Lassiter could see that Shawn had been setting this up for a while, as there were lights all the way along the path. Finally he came to the end of the downwards path, but it levelled out to a long hallway. All along the hallway were doors. Lassiter figured out that he better check everyone of them, just in case.

It was slow going, but one by one Lassiter ruled out each door. Soon he only had three doors left, one on his left, one on his right and one straight in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he opened the one straight in front of him. As soon as he did, he let out the breath he was holding. The room behind the door had collapsed and there was no way through.

Turning back to face the long hallway he had just walked down, Lassiter contemplated which of the last doors he should open. Putting his hand on the door now on his left, he turned the handle, only for some reason to stop and open the right one instead. What he found made his blood run cold.

Hanging from meat hooks were his missing friends. The only ones he couldn't see were Iris, Juliet and her baby. They all had their hands tied together and it was here where the hooks went through. Blood was running from their wrists where the ropes had cut deep into the skin, but this made Lassiter happy. Flowing blood meant they were still alive.

By the look of the cuts and bruises, it appeared that Shawn had tortured them and for some reason, Henry and Guster were the ones to take the worst beatings. Their clothes had been ripped and from what he could see, their feet weren't touching the ground.

As Lassiter looked around for some way to cut them down his eyes fell upon something that made him sick to his stomach. Walking over to the table on the far side of the room, he confirmed what he thought he saw...a blowtorch and branding irons. Shawn was planning on burning them.

Shaking his head, Lassiter swallowed the rising bile in his throat and with a renewed determination he turned around so he could get his friends down, only to come face to face with Shawn and a gun.

"Shawn?" Lassiter was shocked at what he saw.

It wasn't his Shawn sitting in the wheelchair. Instead it was an old, sickly man. Shawn's face was full of wrinkles and he looked old and frail. Lassiter could tell that Shawn had lost a lot of weight and that his hand that was holding the gun was shaking. In all, there was no way that Shawn did all of this on his own. But what he could see was the anger, the hatred in Shawn's eyes and it was all aimed at him.

"So," Shawn's voice was very shakily. "You finally came." A small weak smile graced Shawn's face.

"I can't let you kill them, Shawn. You might hate me, but they've never done anything to you but love you."

"Liar! They're just like you. They said that they loved me, but they never did. You didn't even give a damn when I went missing."

"I spent every free moment I had looking for you. I just couldn't find you and now I know why. You went there but you never went off that cliff, did you?"

"No! I stopped rolling just before the cliff edge. Someone came along and found me. They showed me how you care. How you...they, continued your lives without me."

"We didn't. I mean I spent these last few years either at work, drunk or out sitting on the edge of the cliff drinking myself to death. I wanted to die Shawn. I wanted to be with you. I have and I always will love you. And they never stopped loving you either. Sure, they moved on with their lives, but they also thought you were dead. Trust me, they never stopped loving you."

"Sure, that's what you say now, but I know the truth and your lies won't work on me anymore."

Lassiter was desperate, he knew Shawn was planning on killing them all and if he's right, Shawn has a partner out there somewhere that would be coming back soon.

"Trying to think of a way to overpower me?"

"No, you talk about me not loving you. What about you and your new partner?"

"What partner?"

"The one that helped you do all of this. What about him? Does he kiss you the way I used to?"

"You've gone mad, I have no partner."

So you're going to tell me that you managed to kidnap, hang up and torture your dad, Guster and Chief Vick? And speaking of kidnapping, where are Juliet, her baby and Iris?" Lassiter could see confusion in Shawn eyes.

"I have them?" It was more a question, then a statement.

"Yes, you took Iris first, then Guster, Juliet and the baby from the hospital and your dad from the police station where you had set a bomb that killed several officers and injured several more and then in the confusion you took Chief Vick."

Lassiter watched as Shawn searched his memory for what he had said. Slowly an evil, yet still slightly confused smile formed.

"Of course I did and now, you will watch them die one by one."

"Fine, kill us, but..." Lassiter had an idea to stall for time. "Can I have one last request?"

Shawn thought about this. What could just one last request do? "Fine, one last request. What do you want?"

"One last kiss from you."


	14. And a kiss Breaks the Spell.

The man had been standing just outside the doorway, carefully listening to the conversation between the detective and his puppet, Shawn Spencer. Everything was perfect. He knew that Shawn couldn't kill them, but he could manipulate him into thinking that he had.

The kidnappings, the torture, the bombing, he had done it all, but he had manipulated Shawn into thinking that it was him and soon...soon, Shawn will think he had killed them and be charged with their murders. But Detective Lassiter had to throw the proverbial spanner into the works by asking Shawn for a kiss. It could be the downfall of all his plans, so he had to stop it, but only if Shawn agreed to the kiss. So he continued to listen in.

"You want a kiss, why?"

"I want one last kiss from you. Even if it's to prove that you really don't love me anymore."

Lassiter watched as Shawn tilted his head and thought about his request. The fingers on the hand that wasn't holding the gun tapped the armrest of the wheelchair. Lassiter knew that Shawn was really considering his request.

"Very well! One kiss, but I can't see how it could prove anything."

"It will prove I loved you and that I still do."

"Whatever, but if you try anything...they pay for it," Shawn said pointing at the others. Lassiter watched as Shawn moved his wheelchair back a little and picked up the controller for the hooks. "Well, my dear Lassie, what are you waiting for?"

Lassiter took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he looked at his friends hanging there. Their lives, and his own, all depended on this one kiss. He just hoped he was right about this, but Lassiter only got to take two steps towards Shawn before stopping in his tracks.

The reason he had stopped was simple, a man with a gun had walked in and Shawn had told him he had no partner.

"Back away, Detective," the man said.

Lassiter did as he was told, but he kept an eye on the man. He looked familiar to him. It was when he smiled that Lassiter realised who it was.

"Tie Hogan, I should have known," Lassiter snarled, but why was Shawn with him?

"What are you talking about, Lassie? Tie Hogan is in prison and I thought you wanted a kiss or have you changed your mind?"

"Shawn, Hogan is behind you and I have a bad feeling that he's the one behind all of this."

"Correct, Detective Lassiter. I told you that I would make you pay for putting me in prison. I did want you to pay the price by watching them die in front of you, but it looks like Shawn is going to kill you first instead."

"Do you agree to that, Shawn?"

"I already did agree to the kiss, it's you that's holding it up. Maybe lifting up Chief Vick a bit more might help you make up your mind." Shawn moved his finger over the buttons on the controller.

"No, wait," Lassiter called out holding his hands out. "Please, Shawn, don't do that." Lassiter then looked behind Shawn.

Shawn wasn't too sure what Lassiter was up to, but why did he keep looking behind him, unless...McNab! Swinging his wheelchair around, Shawn was surprised not to see McNab, but Hogan instead and that Hogan was also holding a gun at Lassiter.

"Hogan, what are you doing here?"

"You called me to help with this piece of trash that broke your heart. Remember Shawn, you do remember that don't you?"

"I...no...I..."

"You called me and told me how I was right about how Lassiter would cheat on you and he did, didn't he?"

"Yes, yes he did and I did call you. That's right!"

Shawn turned back to Lassiter. He then called Hogan over. "Here," he said handing over the controller. "If Lassie tries something when he gives me this kiss, kill the Chief."

"But you told me not to let him touch you and a kiss is a touch, so no kissing."

"I thought you were in charge, Shawn, and that you said you had no partner in all of this?"

"I am in charge and he's not my partner."

"Really, he seems to be telling you what you can or cannot do. Like the kiss."

"We're having the kiss. Hogan, keep an eye on him."

"Shawn, I really..."

"I don't care, do as you're told. Lassie...shall we?"

Lassiter walked over to Shawn. He had to tread very carefully, because one slip up and Hogan will have them all dead. Standing in front of Shawn, Lassiter reached out one hand and slipped it behind Shawn's head. He then pressed their lips together.

Lassiter was in heaven. It was as if Shawn had never left. He just hoped Shawn felt the same. Breaking the kiss was like breaking his heart all over again and when he looked into Shawn's eyes and still only saw anger, Lassiter's heart shattered. He really had lost Shawn forever.

"Well, was the spark still there for you?" Shawn asked in a condescending tone.

"It was, but I see it's not for you. Please, Shawn, just kill me. Let the others go."

"No," Shawn said as he turned away from Lassiter and took the controller off Hogan. "Today, no one will die."

"Going to keep on torturing them longer?" Hogan said with a smile.

"No, you really shouldn't have let Lassie kiss me. Drop your gun!"

Lassiter watched as Shawn held his gun towards Hogan. Letting out a sigh, he hoped this meant that he had gotten through to Shawn.

"No! You can't ruin this for me. I've done too much for you to stop me now," Hogan yelled as he raised his gun at Lassiter.

In the next few moments, two guns went off and all three men hit the ground. The next moment, the room was flooded by police officers.

When Lassiter came to, he was in the hospital. As he looked around the room, he realised that he wasn't in a normal hospital room. He, along with Henry, Guster and the Chief were each in a bed. Guster also had Juliet and the baby sitting in a chair next to him and Chief Vick had her husband and Iris there.

It looked like everyone had survived what had happened to them; he just wished he knew what had happened to Shawn and Hogan. It was about now that Henry saw that he was awake and after the doctor had checked Lassiter over, he was brought up to date as to what had happened.

It turned out it was all Hogan. Just after he had escaped prison. he had come across Shawn. He'd then taken Shawn to a friend who had been pumping drugs into Shawn ever since. In this drug induced state they could manipulate Shawn into thinking he was committing all the crimes. Apparently, Hogan had worn a camera on his hat and they sat Shawn down in front of a TV and played it all back and convinced Shawn that he was actually doing it.

After that, they just kept Shawn drugged and manipulated his memory. That included all the torture that he had done to Henry, Chief Vick and Gus. Juliet and the kids had been put in the last room, the one that Lassiter hadn't opened. Somehow he knew hurting them would break the control he had over Shawn.

"But it seems that Kiss you gave Shawn, did the trick instead," Chief Vick said as she told the story.

"Your kiss saved us," Henry added.

"What happened to Shawn and Hogan?"

"Hogan is back in prison. Shawn had shot him in the leg, as for Shawn..." Chief Vick started to say, before falling into a silence.

"I'm getting there." Everyone looked at the door where Shawn sat, this time in a normal wheelchair. Lassiter couldn't help but be glad to see that Shawn was looking a lot better. "Even better now that you're awake. I'm sorry, Lassie, I never meant to..."

"As long as you are safe, Shawn...as long as we are all safe, that's all that matters."

"Thank you. I heard you were awake so I wanted to come and see for myself."

"I'm glad that you are good. So Hogan's bullet didn't hit anyone then?"

"It hit you. You've been in a coma for the last week."

"Oh, Shawn..."

"I'm sorry, Detective, but Mr. Spencer has to return to his own room, you can talk to him another day."

Lassiter just watched as the nurse wheeled Shawn away.

"It's ok, Detective Lassiter," Gus said. "Shawn is going through a drug rehabilitation program to get him off the drugs that Hogan had him on. Once finished, I doubt that he will be prosecuted for his part in all of this."

"But, Chief, you just said that Hogan manipulated him into everything he did."

"Yes, I did, but you know what the lawyers are like. They're trying to say that it was all Shawn's doing."

"I'm sorry to break this apart, but you all need to get some sleep," the head nurse said sending Henry, Gus and the Chief back to their beds. The Chief's husband, Iris, Juliet and the baby all said their goodbyes and headed home for the night.

Rolling over, Lassiter tried to get back to sleep and when he did, he dreamt about all the kisses that he and Shawn had shared over the years and hoped to share a lot more in the future.

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and for reviewing my story. Sequel will start soon. It is called "Kisses Will Heal Our Love!"


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